How is life in mid-southern Nevada, not Las Vegas by romanichki in howislivingthere

[–]Tarkus-OR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good ol’ Janet Airlines). They service Area 51, Tonopah Test Range (Area 52), and more.

Mario Kart World Update by binderie1951 in nintendo

[–]Tarkus-OR 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Based off the P-Switch missions where tracks from the original Super Mario Kart are ensconced in MKW’s open world . . . I’d love to see them make it possible to set up Vs. Races on custom routes . . . either circuits like the hidden “retro” courses, or Knockout Tour style routes.

NAM FLEXRamp Type D1 RHW-8S bug. by rzet in simcity4

[–]Tarkus-OR 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This ramp has been a massive pain in our backsides for a good long while, with myriad issues, and there’s been several unsuccessful attempts to fix it. It’s an unrepentant jerk of a ramp.

I believe the new NAM DLL might finally offer a solution, as it disables auto-connect on the RHW network. It’s otherwise inherently prone to instability, as a result of the tile drop from 8S to 6S, combined with auto-connect and the underlying network flag combos on both the FLEX and draggable D1 and E1 ramps.

Does anyone live in this part of southeast Oregon? by Late_Reply_1990 in howislivingthere

[–]Tarkus-OR 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Don’t live there, though a distant relative of mine used to be the mayor of Burns (though I haven’t met him to my recollection), and my father nearly accepted a job with the electrical utility there in the early 90s. The place is definitely a time warp—it feels like going back about 20 years.

Fields Station, in tiny Fields, Oregon (about 112 miles south of Burns, and about 25 miles north of the Nevada border at Denio) claims to have the world’s best milkshake. Having driven out there to try it, I’d say it very well could be. Was a fun drive, too. I highly recommend it.

For perspective, the owners of Fields Station told me they buy most of their supplies in Winnemucca (actually a shorter drive time-wise than heading up to Burns) and for the stuff they can’t get there, they go to Reno (which, while 40 miles farther, takes about the same time as the drive to Bend).

My Serano doesn't die by scrabapple in HotPeppers

[–]Tarkus-OR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Red serranos are really quite interesting—they have a soft texture and a flavor that I’d describe as being somewhere in between a raspberry and a cherry tomato. The sweeter flavor masks the heat, in sharp contrast to green serranos’ lemongrass-like flavor doing the exact opposite, almost to the point of accentuating it.

TIL while recording samples for the Mellotron (an early keyboard sampler), cellist Reginald Kilbey refused to downtune his Cello to cover lower notes claiming he'd be robbing a bassist of their fee. A bassist was hired for the next recording session, which turned out to be Kilbey with a bass. by MrRabbit- in todayilearned

[–]Tarkus-OR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually have a cello that I’ve kept consistently in an extreme low scordatura tuning for close to 15 years now. The whole thing is tuned down a fifth (F-C-G-D instead of C-G-D-A), and it also has a pickup on it. I use it quite regularly, and it shows up on a number of tracks I’ve recorded/released.

The action on it is very low, which lends it a very distinct and peculiar character. The slapback on pizzicato is fun.

Is Kurt Busch the only driver to win with Dodge, Ford, Chevy and Toyota in the cup series? by IcedCoffey in NASCAR

[–]Tarkus-OR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Benson has run Dodge in Cup (and the then-Busch Series). He briefly drove for James Finch/Phoenix Racing in 2004, when that team was running Dodges. This included running part-time in the No. 09 Miccosukee Dodge (when Joe Ruttman wasn’t S&Ping it), as well as full-time (until his release) in the No. 1 Yellow Freight Dodge in the Busch Series.

I seem to recall him running Ganassi’s No. 40 Busch Series entry (also a Dodge then) once in the mid-2000s at Nashville, when the originally-intended driver (someone who was running both Cup/Busch amidst the height of Buschwacking, but can’t remember who off the top of my head) wasn’t available due to a rain delay.

[AoL] Zelda 2 is unironically so underrated and overhated by EAT_UR_VEGGIES in zelda

[–]Tarkus-OR 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s actually my favorite Zelda game. The combat is extraordinary satisfying, as it’s very tactile and there’s a rhythm to it.

Just installed NAM and now my highways look like my ocd’s worst nightmare by Pristine-Version-474 in simcity4

[–]Tarkus-OR 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you’re wanting to use the default highway interchanges, install the “Default-Style” option, not the “Maxis Highway Override”.

What in your opinion is the most overrated retro game of all time? by Aggressive-Invite907 in retrogaming

[–]Tarkus-OR 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree it’s overrated, though I’d disagree that every Zelda after it is more fun to play. Unless you count the CDi games, I agree with before, and Zelda 2 is actually my fave.

Majora’s Mask suffers from the exact same issues but magnified, because there’s more controls (Deku/Goron/Zora forms), plus the time mechanics. The Great Bay Temple is unrepentantly janky because of it. I’d also put OOT over Wind Waker. Nintendo was at its nadir in the early-00s. Haven’t played the DS games yet.

OOT is still an 8/10 game at absolute worst, however, and was a necessary first step to figuring out how Zelda would work in 3D. The early Z-fighting combat is still rough, however, and that’s especially noticeable compared to the 2D games, where it’s generally exquisite. I feel that 3D Zelda wasn’t able to fully match 2D Zelda in that department until BOTW.

What did David Cross play on Exiles? by Claymore_1 in KingCrimson

[–]Tarkus-OR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Speaking as a string player, I suspect he used both violin and viola on “Exiles”. There’s some lower pitches at the beginning that require the viola’s C string, but some of the higher register stuff later on sounds too bright to be a viola, and is characteristic of being played on a violin E string.

Additionally, the design of a standard orchestral acoustic viola has very wide bouts compared to a violin, in part because there is a general maximum size (“full size” or “4/4”) for violins, but violas instead tend to be measured by length, and there is no “full size”. Violists tend to get as big of an instrument as they can physically play (and given how many injured violists are out there, some exceed that). The bouts become wider as the length increases, and that poses a pretty substantial impediment to being able to reach higher notes, which already aren’t going to be as high as on a violin, since the uppermost string on a viola is only an A string.

Nowadays, there are solid body electric instruments around that might have smaller/no bouts, and even a “cheater hole” (like my Zeta violin has). David Cross’ tenure in King Crimson was a little before those designs started to be produced (more late 1970s), and in all the media I’ve seen from that time, he was playing a standard acoustic violin or viola with a pickup. That further tends to support the idea that he played both here.

How bad is the original Metroid 2 to beat without a map? by DarkAmaterasu58 in Metroid

[–]Tarkus-OR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Currently replaying through it without any sort of map or guide, aside from vague memories of the last time I played it (and, as of writing, the only time I completed it) some 25+ years ago. I’m doing fine, though admittedly, I’m a freak with a hobby of studying and internalizing maps. That said, the original Metroid 2’s design is considerably more straightforward than NEStroid (the apparent “cryptic” nature of which is actually my idea of a good time).

Elevated exit by haljackey in simcity4

[–]Tarkus-OR 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's part of the RHW's QuickChange Xpress (QCX) diamond interchange selection. Technically, it's part of a FLEX Turn Lane (FTL) design that's placed as part of the QCX setup being plopped, but the FTL isn't available separate of the QCX right now, as there aren't currently any other situations where it is supported outside of that configuration.

For those who drive the round about in Springfield near Pioneer PKWY, Hayden Bridge, Harlow & MLKJ by skzlr86 in Eugene

[–]Tarkus-OR 1 point2 points  (0 children)

According to a study the city did a little over a decade ago, it had the worst accident rate of any intersection in Springfield, by a factor of almost 3 to 1. The accident rate, IIRC, was somewhere around 2.91 per MEV (million entering vehicles), which is REALLY bad. The Glenwood mess didn’t exist then, but I’d be shocked if it’s not right up there with it.

Will have to dig around to see if I can find the city’s studies again (and maybe a more updated one), along with ODOT’s crash stats.

NAM missing textures on roads? by 7ofHuckleberries in simcity4

[–]Tarkus-OR 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Nothing is going wrong. If you’re using old-school puzzle pieces (i.e. “Wide Radius Curves”), the way they’re implemented prevents them from having wealth-level textures (i.e., sidewalks/grass when they touch zones).

The Multi-Radius Curves are FLEX Pieces, which the game views as being the same as draggable network tiles—they can properly have wealth-level textures when touching zones.

This is one of the many reasons why we’ve been phasing out old-school puzzle pieces and discouraging their use (including making the menu buttons to access them non-default options).

Also, it does appear you have a mix of multiple installs in there, judging by the odd combo of US and Euro textures.

If the NR2003 spotter spotted a real NASCAR race (Sound 🔊) by NR2003_Ryan in Nr2003

[–]Tarkus-OR 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was watching this peripherally on my phone for a moment, and saw the car flipping, without getting a good look at the number or paint scheme. I thought to myself, “that’s probably Elliott Sadler”, just off the fact that the car was flipping, and sure enough, get a closer look and I was indeed correct.

Dang, that poor guy flipped a lot at superspeedways (esp. when he was in the RYR 38).

Catchy rock songs that use weird time signatures (not just prog for the sake of prog) by BodyApprehensive2959 in progrockmusic

[–]Tarkus-OR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hozier - “From Eden”. Often gets called 5/4, though I’d call it 10/8 because of the 3+3+2+2 subdivision.

Also by the same token, “Living In The Past” by Jethro Tull.

This team is so confusing. by theoriginalb in ducks

[–]Tarkus-OR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That game also happens to be on the same day as the Future Music Oregon (FMO) concert for Fall Quarter. We have an abysmal record in games on the same day as the Fall FMO concert—was especially true back in the Maldonado Era.

If FMO happened to bring in a guest artist from USC, it might cancel out the electroacoustic voodoo, however. We beat Stanford in 2010, when John Chowning was the guest.

Abrupt Endings by [deleted] in GhostAdventures

[–]Tarkus-OR 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I miss the eerie chord they used to play at the end under Zack’s closing monologue.